Nyla Moore

Meet Nyla Moore. A makeup enthusiast, Spongebob Squarepants referencer and all around fun person. She is a hard worker, stopping at nothing to reach her goals. She is a senior in high school now, ready to take the next step forward towards her dreams. Nyla wants to work in the medical field one day as a doctor. She has grown to understand what her skin means to her and the world and today wouldn’t have thing any other way. Here is Nyla’s story.

Me and Melanin

I would say I have a really good relationship with my skin color. In the past, I don’t know if I did, but now I really do. Now, I love my skin color.

Growing Up

When I was younger, I went to private school and it was all white people. I guess for a second I thought I was white. I just didn’t really know. My parents were very active in teaching us about our culture. But when I came to public school it really hit me. It was like ‘woah girl, you look just like them too’. I learned about people stereotyping you and other stuff like that which I didn’t really know because when I was little I was not conscious about my skin color. I knew I was black, but not what that meant.

The Stares

Looking back, I remember the stares that I remember the stares that I would get sometimes. My mom was always reminded us to watch ourselves. She used to say ‘watch what you do, what you say..’ because people were always looking at us. But I was thinking why? My mom dresses really nicely with the heels and the suit and people were always wowed. It was always like ‘oh, the black people’. It was weird! At the time, I didn’t know that was shady, but my mom did.

Joining “Everyone Else”

[Leaving private school] was like a really weird wakeup call. I had this really weird mindset about the black people at my new public school But then it was like “woah, what are you talking about?!” At the end of the day it doesn’t matter how much money they have or I have. If I’m standing in a line with every other black person at my school, they will all group us the same way. It honestly doesn’t even matter. That was really when I realized that maybe what my parents have been telling and warning me about were true. Like I said, my parents have done an amazing job teaching me about my culture but it didn’t really register until then.

Black History

Before changing schools, I never had a black history class. There used to be black history month, but you just saw a poster of Martin Luther King. Literally, that was it. When I left my private school, I was devastated. Now I look back and I’m so thankful I left. Now I know the reality that some people grow up and have these really racist mindsets about black people and continue to live their lives like that and they’re adults. I don’t like thinking about who I’d be if I stayed.

Publically Speaking

Public school just opened me to different cultures. Before, it was honestly just white and three black kids at my school. I never met people from other cultures. I never had an Asian friend. It’s just something I had never known before. I learned so much and it was so eye opening. I would’ve been stuck in this closed mindset for my entire life and I would’ve never met people like you!

Nyla’s Skin

I think my skin color shows strength, power, and intelligence. My skin makes me really happy. I really like being black. When you think about the world we live in today and the ideas that people have about black people, it’s sad. I wish that I ‘black girl joy’ when I was younger! I was a happy girl but I wish I had that inner love for my skin and how I looked. I have it now, but realizing it back then would’ve made my life so much happier.

Makeup for Your Mistakes

Yesterday, I went to the ELF store to get some makeup. I saw their foundation sticks and was like ‘where are the other colors?!’ The salesperson told me they ran out of stock and it takes a longer time for them to bring back the darker colors. But why?! I don’t understand why there are all these light colors and no darker colors and why it takes so long for them to get another shipment. It took me forever to buy my first foundation because they never had my shade. Then Maybelline came out with this new foundation and I found my shade! I was so happy, but at the same time what took so long? Why can’t they just provide foundation shades that match me? People of color who want to do makeup have to search so hard to find something that matches their skin or pay even more money for those products. It’s ridiculous. It should be accessible for every skin color.

Preference for Light

I think the preference for lighter skin is a worldwide thing. People can think that the closer you are to white, the better you are. It started so long ago and has now manifested itself into our minds now. It clearly isn’t true. The black community deals with the light skin versus dark skin debate. It affects both sides badly. Light skin people can be fetishized while the gap between dark skin people in the community can widen. People who lighten their skin don’t do it just to be lighter. There is clearly a deeper issue for which someone is buying a toxic cream to put all over themselves. I would try to motivate them and increase their self confidence so that they don’t think they need to change themselves.

You’re Beautiful

I think it starts with parents, guardians or whoever is taking care of you. It is important for them to implement that you are beautiful the way you are and honestly reminding them how much they love you. Then, in schools I think that people should just be nicer to others. Just words of encouragement for others. When I was dealing with eczema, people telling me I was beautiful was like a boost of feeling better. Someone is beautiful when they are themselves. They are beautiful when they look happy. Let people be who they are.